Tarkwa, (W/R) June 30, GNA - A Tarkwa Circuit Court on Wednesday sentenced Kwaku Antwi an ex-convict to six years imprisonment in hard labour for posing as a prison officer and defrauding a petty trader and her family. He changed his plea of not guilty to guilty and pleaded with the court to forgive him.

Presenting the facts of the case, Chief Inspector Alex Asamoah told the court, presided over by Mr. John Ajet Nasam that Adjoa Anuah is a petty trader resident at Akoon, a suburb of Tarkwa whiles the accused is an ex-convict discharged from the Tarkwa local Prisons on April 14, 2005.

Chief Inspector Asamoah said that during the accused's stay in the prison, he met the brother of Adjoa called Kofi Kwateng, who was also serving his prison term but was later transferred from Tarkwa to Sekondi Male Prison. The Prosecutor said on May 31 this year, the accused went to the house of Adjoa and in the presence of some witnesses introduced himself as a prison officer of the Sekondi Prison and claimed to have been sent by Kwarteng. He said the accused claimed that a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) had come to Sekondi Male Prison Ward to grant amnesty to prisoners who have served a year and above of their sentence and succeeded in convincing Adjoa and her family that he (accused) could use money to bribe the authorities compiling names to add Kwateng's to those being granted the amnesty.

Chief Inspector Asamoah said Adjoa and her family welcomed the idea and managed to raise nine hundred thousand cedis for the accused to facilitate the release of their relative. He said the accused left Tarkwa and promised Adjoa and her family that Kwateng would come home in three days. Adjoa's father followed up to the prison only to be told that they had been defrauded. A report was made to the police and the accused was arrested.